No one is an island. None of us is able to survive, much less live, completely self-sufficient. Each of us need others. I am thankful for the many who have helped me during my life; family, friends, coworkers and colleagues, teachers, doctors, shopkeepers, assistants, the list would be very long indeed if I continued. It is important to take a moment on occasion and remember those who have been influential, helpful, or just plain loving, and say, “Thank you.”
So, to all of you reading this, “Thank you.” And may you have a very happy Thanksgiving (even if you are not an American celebrating the holiday with us, I would like to invite you to participate in something that gives me joy).
I had the privilege of contributing several articles to the Ubuntu 8.10 edition of Linux Identity magazine, along with one I co-wrote with a friend, Ryan Troy (aka ubuntu-geek in the Ubuntu Forums). I even got to write the editorial at the beginning of the issue.
Now, with a little bit of fear and no small amount of intimidation, owing to how incredibly much I respect so many of you in the overall Linux and FOSS developer and Ubuntu communities, I am letting you all know about the issue while I hope I got all of my facts and details correct in the articles.
Do you ever ask yourself questions like “Why?” and “What if?”
Do you enjoy reading and discovering diverse viewpoints, especially those to which you have not been exposed?
I do. Often. I love to explore options, delve into ideas, and pursue opportunities, if only in my mind.
What I discover when I do this is that there are perspectives and thoughts beyond those which I have previously known. These things stretch me. They enable me to better understand what others think and feel. They provide for me an opportunity to go beyond what I already know and hopefully better myself, my methods for doing things, and perhaps my world.
How many people are actually like this?
I’m not sure, but it seems to me that people who want to be aware of things outside of their personal circle of the known are quite rare. I wish that were not the case, but I’m convinced that it is. In other words, I am either wonderfully unique or exceptionally weird, depending on your personal perspective.
Most of the time we as a human species will listen to friends or radio talk shows, read newspapers and web sites, and watch television programs which reinforce the opinions we already have. Rarely will we endure, much less consider the opinions of “those others” with whom we disagree.
People who are willing to do so are scoffed as being “so open minded their brains leaked out” or as people who “think instead of act.” I disagree. I think people who are willing to listen to and truly consider viewpoints with which they may not agree are healthy. They certainly tend to make better decisions, decisions which benefit a wider set of people in more ways, and they usually show great deference and respect to others, which in and of itself is a rare gift.
What got me thinking about this today was a web page I stumbled across with an article by Steven Dutch from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in which he asks the question Why is there Anti-Intellectualism? and explores a possibile answer that I find both plausible and kind of sad. I hope you read it, it’s worth the time and effort, because he says things I haven’t heard elsewhere, at least not in the same way.
The bottom line is that we tend to default to an attitude of “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” coupled with an innate distrust of what we do not know or understand, with a bit of “I need an answer that I understand” mixed in. We are not good with ambiguity, with not knowing, and listening to or seeking out ideas we have never had before involves getting past that discomfort and learning to be comfortable with not completely understanding something while exploring the options.
In this series, we have had the privilege of including a number of adults. In today’s installment, we are highlighting one of our younger forum members. Nathan Grubb (forum username: nathangrubb) is also a comparatively new Linux user, having joined the fun just over a year ago. He has a blog that you are invited to check out, and included a couple of screenshots with his interview, in which you will discover he uses wmii, which I have inserted below.
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real” life – name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
Well, to start out – my name is Nathan Grubb, I am a 15 year old male residing in eastern Washington state (Chewelah, Washington to be specific). I live with my 2 parents and I have 1 sibling. I am a freshman in high school, some of my hobbies include Linux, computers, reading, writing, and badminton.
2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
I’ve been interested in computers since I was about 7, though back then it was mostly in gaming. My mother used to repair computers, which is likely the reason I became interested (and fluent) in them. I first became intrigued by Linux around July 20th, 2007. It was nice that I could check my email without worry of malware. The first Linux distribution I used was Damn Small Linux, Originally I wanted to download Ubuntu, but I was turned off by the 700 MB download size, which was quite a pain on 256 KiB/s ADSL.
Yeah, it’s blank.
3. When did you become involved in the forums? What’s your role there?
I joined the Ubuntu Forums on August 4th, 2007. At first I was primarily asking support questions, though I was quite interested in the cafe and cafe games for a couple of months. I haven’t given as much Linux support as some members on the forums. Though, if you want to count it as support, I help out at forum feedback and help.
4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
I am not currently a Ubuntu member, and I do not have an interest in pursuing membership unless others urge me to. I do not believe I have contributed anything significant to Ubuntu.
5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
As of now my distro of choice is Ubuntu. I’d be using Arch if I wasn’t having problems with Kernel panics and segfaults. I use 4 applications on a regular basis: Opera, Konversation, Gajim, and Pidgin. Of the 4, I have to say my favourite is Opera. My least favourite application would have to be gnome-terminal or Evolution. I’ve never actually gotten into using Evolution and have no use for it. I find Gnome-terminal to be slow.
With some apps open.
6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
I’d have to say my fondest memory from the forums is the “Finish the story thread” in Cafe games. It is what originally convinced me to stay for the long hall, and I met some of my best (internet) friends through that thread. I’d have to say my worst memory from Ubuntu Forums happened when I narrowly avoided an infraction, though that was within my first month of membership, I believe.
7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
Besides introducing my younger sister to Ubuntu – none, really. I’ve been asked about it twice before, though each time I failed to introduce it onto said person’s desktop. I don’t feel a need to introduce others, though, unless they ask. I’d be a hypocrite if I started imposing on people.
8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
It’d be great if more manufacters made Linux drivers and/or supported Linux. Though I doubt it will happen, I’d approve if Ubuntu changed their release cycle to once every 8 months – it’d give 2 more months of bug testing, stability excersise, etc.
9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
Linux is not all it’s cut out to be. If you can locate a Local LUG (Linux Users group), please do. Linux is much more pleasant to use for beginners when it is pre-setup for them by experts, as is Windows.
I am hopeful that the world is changing. Whether it is or not, it is obvious that American, and I believe much of the world society is. The days of “us” versus “them” are diminishing as communication becomes faster and easier and we all start to realize that we have more similarities than we have differences.
Those who seem to understand this best are the youngest among us, especially those under thirty or so, although that is not an absolute boundary by any means.
Those who seem to fear this most are generally those with the most to lose; those in power, those who are older and more established in their perceptions of others.
I have a message for a few different groups, segments of society who have intentionally labeled themselves based on what they think, believe, espouse, and so on.
It is time to stop accusing those who are different than you of being evil, malicious, unpatriotic, etc. You will not win people to your positions by doing so, but rather you will alienate those who disagree with you, turning them from merely indifferent to actively against you. Speak your mind, but do so calmly and respectfully without using extremist language or hateful tones. That is your best chance to be heard.
Politicians: it is time for you to stop being reactionary, divisive, and extreme in your tone. I find it telling that the generally accepted belief that the best speeches given in the political primaries and general election by losing candidates in the USA were also the most gracious and conciliatory in tone; that of Hillary Clinton and John McCain as they conceded defeat to a candidate who was consistently gracious, stable, and non-accusing in his tone and discussions of other candidates. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of this behavior, as well as members of other political parties. Stop it. Your adversary does not wish the destruction of the country you love, rather he or she wishes to see it prosper just as you do. You disagree on how that may best be accomplished, but neither of you has anything but the best of intentions and wishes. Start believing that about each other, and start talking to one another.
Religious adherents: it is time for you to focus on living your beliefs in the clearest and most consistent of ways and to stop trying to force others to follow them by force. It is definitely okay to discuss what you think or believe and allow it to influence your decisions in life and even dictate your involvement in society, including politics. It is not okay for you to demand that others believe what you believe solely because you think it is right. It is okay to begin a dialogue and calmly and lovingly (or at least kindly) give your reasoning and foundation for believing as you do, in the hopes that others will agree once they come to understand. This is true whether you are a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, or a follower of any other religion. If your intent is truly the betterment of yourself, your fellow human, your society, and your world, then start acting like it by treating one another better than you treat one another now.
Finally, for goodness’ sake, will you all please stop with the extremist rhetoric?
“Candidate X wants to eat your children, steal your house, or enslave the population” are utterly foolish arguments. So are, “Religion Y teaches everyone should hate others who believe differently” and “All members of religious groups other than mine want to rule the world through violence, oppression, and have at heart a plot to steal the souls of all who live.” While some sects in nearly every religion and philosophy have extremists, my experience has been that most people have come to their faith in an honest attempt to become the best people they can be, they want to live in peace, raise their kids, work and feed their families, and be left alone. Those who are looking for something better will look first to those of their friends offering a better life example, not to those who offer the most scary, apocalyptic vision of what will happen if you don’t follow their way.
I will not bow to the threat of a bomb. I will not cower before dire predictions of catastrophe. I won’t do it politically. I won’t do it in my choice of religion. I won’t force others to endure such extremism from me. I will offer a better way, with respect, or I will keep silent and let others be.
I have been playing around with Facebook for a while now. It is a fun place to connect with friends, and I have been able to find and reconnect with some that I haven’t seen or heard from in years.
Being a typical geek, I can’t leave well enough alone. I wanted to find out how to make this new toy do more. I wanted to personalize it, and see if I could make it do things it wasn’t originally designed to do. That’s where today’s short book review comes in.
I read through a copy of FBML Essentials by Jesse Stay. The book covers the Facebook Markup Language, which is similar to HTML and provides an easy way to create an application to run on Facebook. Knowledge of HTML is a real prerequisite, but only a basic knowledge. It would also be helpful if you have some knowledge of CSS and JavaScript, especially if you want to do anything really interesting in your application.
This book is a short, clear, and easy introduction to creating that app you have been longing to make, whether for a business, a non-profit entity or club, or just for fun. The information is presented in a very logical order and the descriptions of each item are clear and useful without being burdensome or boring you with too much detail. Anyone with some experience with web design and development (and some server space and bandwidth to host your app) can easily read through the book and get up to speed in an afternoon.
The book begins by walking you through a few basics, like how to set up a separate Facebook developer account, and then moves right in to creating an application and detailing a large number of useful tags. Anyone interested in having a little Facebook fun in your free time (or for a client…) would find the book useful and beneficial.
A while back, I was approached and asked to review a book that was still in progress. I read through it and made some specific comments and suggestions. Now, the final version of the book is complete and has been published. Not only were my suggestions taken, but I am privileged to have a quote of mine in use on the first page, just inside the cover. I liked the book when I read the earlier draft, and I like it even better now.
If you get a chance, take a look and see what you think.
He also has a website dedicated to tips and tricks for Ubuntu at ubuntukungfu.org.
The Ubuntu Forums are blessed with an amazing and wonderful group of staff members. This time around, we have the privilege of hearing from one of the younger and newer additions, a wonderful guy named Joeb454. Be sure to check out his personal blog as well.
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real” life – name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
Well my name is Joe, and if you look hard enough, you’ll find my last name too 😉 I’m 19, from Leicester UK where I go to University (Software Engineering) which is great, as I recently found out one of my lecturers uses Ubuntu too! Hobbies are basically, computers, music & Xbox 360.
I’ll also provide a Desktop (well…laptop) screenshot of what my Desktop currently looks like (I’m using the DustTheme):
Joeb454's desktop
2) When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
I became interested in computers somewhere around 2003, I’m not too sure. We got our first PC in 1997, a Win95 machine with 16MB RAM, a 133Mhz Pentium & a 1.9GB HDD 😀 We then didn’t get another PC until around 2003, which is when I really got into them. Ubuntu came about around Hoary (5.04?), I have no idea how I found it, but it looked good even then, but I couldn’t get it to run. I finally got around to installing Feisty (7.04) around May 2007, and have been running Ubuntu ever since 🙂
3) When did you become involved in the forums? What’s your role there?
I joined the forums August 2007 (the 31st if you want specifics), and I didn’t post too much at first, except when I started University in September, when I had long breaks (2-3 hours) I used to browse the forums. It was then I started to realise “hey, I think I know how to fix that” so I started helping. In December, I joined the Ubuntu Forums Beginners Team, who are a great group of people, we just generally try and help out the new guys.
By the beginning of March, I’d accumulated 1,000 posts, which I thought was quite good, however the next thing I knew, I’d got 2,000, then 3,000 and it was only May. I guess that may have helped to decide whether or not I got asked to be Forum Staff in July, which I was offered, and gladly accepted. I enjoy doing it, though it’s not all fun and games.
4) Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
I am indeed, I got accepted around the middle of August this year. I contribute mainly to the forums, as I mentioned above, however I also recommend Ubuntu to people within the community, and make it known that no – I don’t often use Windows. This usually raises some questions which allows me to talk about it a little. I’ve had some luck with getting other people looking at it too. Sometime soon I may be going to a LUG meeting, as recommended by the lecturer I mentioned earlier 🙂 Hopefully I’ll enjoy it!
5) What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
I only use Ubuntu. I do have Windows Vista installed, but it rarely sees the light, I just think it’s a good idea to remember how to use Windows while all my family still use it (I’m the go-to guy). I use Firefox, Xchat, Thunderbird & Amarok quite a lot, they all work just as I want them too. I don’t think I have a favourite application, though my least favourite is definitely Ekiga…It’s the first thing I do on a clean install (apt-get purge ekiga)…I mean, who uses it?!?!
6) What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
There’s been so many fond memories, I can’t even choose, I liked the fact that I got a thread made about whether I was a human or a dog, that was rather funny (my avatar is normally Brian Griffin from Family Guy). The worst memory I have, is probably when I banned a member of the doc team, who made 17 duplicate threads, which I deleted all but 1. I then received a PM which basically declared war on the forums… :p
7) What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
Some, I’ve got a friend running an Ubuntu dual boot on his desktop. He also bought an Eee PC from a forum user (I acted as the middle man, my friend isn’t registered). I’ve also got some people looking at it just by mentioning things it can do – the Live CD is a good example, I recovered all of somebody’s documents using the Live CD 🙂
8) What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
I’m not sure whether I’d like to see it become overly popular, I kind of like being 1337 😉 On a more serious note – it’s great to see it spreading, I’ve noticed a lot of people at University using Linux in some form. I hope Ubuntu (and Linux in general) both continue to grow and improve – I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
9) If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
Don’t be shy, ask questions! There’s IRC for instant support (it can get crowded in there though, the Beginners Team have an IRC group to help too), there’s also the forums, they’re a great place for support, often with quick replies too.
Basically, what I’m saying is – “Don’t give up, just because there are obstacles in the way…stop and think if Windows has never caused you problems, but you want to stick with that??” 😉
1. Tell as much as you’re willing about your “real” life – name, age, gender, location, family, religion, profession, education, hobbies, etc.
I’m John Crawford (johnc4510), a 55 year old male, living in Arizona. I was once married, but I have been single for so long now that I really don’t even remember it. 🙂 I grew up in Missouri which accounts for what I call my “hick” accent. I’ve had several hobbies over the years, but Ubuntu seems to have replaced them all.
2. When and how did you become interested in computers? in Linux? in Ubuntu?
I got my first computer experiences in the work place, but didn’t have one for home use until 1985. It was a basic machine and didn’t have a very fast processor. I used it mostly for web surfing, email, etc. I became interested in Linux sometime in early 2005. I was just looking for a better alternative to Windows, and happened upon the DistroWatch website. I tried a few different flavors of Linux but settled on Ubuntu for several reasons. It seemed to work with my hardware well, anything that didn’t work right off I was able to make work with help from the forums. I was also very impressed with the community, no rants, or telling you how stupid you were.
3. When did you become involved in the forums (or the Ubuntu community)? What’s your role there?
My transition to helping on the forums was kind of a natural thing. It was where I learned about our operating system, and I felt I might be able to give back some of the great tips and help I had received. I’m not as active on the forums as I used to be, but I do moderate the Arizona thread, the US Teams thread, and the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter thread. I wish I had more time to devote to the forums but other Ubuntu tasks have pulled me in other directions.
4. Are you an Ubuntu member? If so, how do you contribute? If not, do you plan on becoming one?
I am an Ubuntu Member, and very proud of that fact. In addition to the moderating of forum threads I listed above, I’m a founding member and team leader of the Arizona LoCo team, a co-editor of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, and an editor for the Fridge. I’m not the most technical Linux user around, so I try to find other places that I can do something to contribute back to the community.
5. What distros do you regularly use? What software? What’s your favorite application? Your least favorite?
Ubuntu is my #1 distro! I have a partition on my desktop box that I use to play around with other distros, or alpha versions of Ubuntu, but I have never found another distro that I like as much as Ubuntu. My favorite software applications are: irssi, screen, Liferea(news reader), Deluge BitTorrent, Exaile music player, Htop, ssh, Synaptic Package Mgr. and GDebi Package Mgr. My least favorite software application is probably Thunderbird. Now, before I get flamed, you should know that I use it everyday and it works great. So why is it my least favorite, it’s because I hate email.
6. What’s your fondest memory from the forums, or from Ubuntu overall? What’s your worst?
My best memories on the forums, or with Ubuntu, are centered around the great friendships I have made. I don’t think I have ever been associated with a better group of people than the Ubuntu/Forums community. I have only had one bad experience during my 3+ year association with Ubuntu, and I won’t go into it. Let’s just say you can’t always milk the cow without getting kicked, and I figure one problem is a drop in the bucket so to speak.
7. What luck have you had introducing new computer users to Ubuntu?
The Arizona LoCo has been a very active group, so I’d have to say I’ve been lucky at introducing new computer users to Ubuntu. Our release parties, installfests, and conferences have enabled not only myself, but our team to introduce new people to Ubuntu. We have helped users from 14-65, and even a hearing impaired gentleman to experience what we all believe to be the best operating system available today.
8. What would you like to see happen with Linux in the future? with Ubuntu?
I would hope that not only Ubuntu, but Linux continue to make headway in the desktop/server markets. Ubuntu has a great product, a fantastic community, and a bright future. I would love to see less arguing over who has the best operating system, and better coordination between the many Linux distributions. I try very hard to get the point across to people that “it’s not what operating system you use, it’s that you use Linux, the free operating system.”
9. If there was one thing you could tell all new Ubuntu users, what would it be?
I use this phrase a lot with new users: “Don’t be afraid to get in there a try new things you’re not sure about.” I tend to find that most people are a little scared of Ubuntu, or Linux at first, but once they start experimenting with it, well you can almost see the joy on their face when they accomplish something they never thought they could do. It’s a very satisfying thing to me.
